Bridge for abutting track rails



Jan, 6, 1925. v

' L. R. ROSEBROOK BRIDGE FOR ABUTTING TRACK RAILS Filed March 12, '1924 INVENTOR L .RJR o'eool'cV ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

Lucius it. nosnnncox, or osKALoosa, rowafassrenoa fro nanny n. nosnnnooir, or nns Moines, iowa, Ann aanstaan n. nosnnnooir, on entende, inninors;

BRIDGE ron' anufrrine franca f nains.

appneauonaiea March 12, 1924. serial naeeaesa Tov all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Lucius R. Rosnnoon, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa, have invented a new and useful Bridge for Abutting Track'Rails, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide improved means tor bridging the joints' between abutting track rails, and particularly between a rigid rail and a rail mounted on a movable object such asa scale or turntable.

A further object of this invention is to provide improvedv means for transferring the weight ot' rolling stock from track rails to rails located von movable members suchA as track scales'or turntables, and avoiding shock and damage to such movable members.

'My invention consists in the'construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set toi-th, pointed out in lthe claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating 'onel method of mounting my improved bridge or approach relative to a track rail and a scale rail. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section. Figure 3 is a crosssection on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in section', showing a modified method or" mounting the bridge or approach. t.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, showing a further modified form.

Figure 6 is a plan View illustrating a method of mounting the bridge or approach slidably, adapting it to use in connection with a rotatable member or turntable.

This invention relates to and is an im.

provement on the devices illustrated, described and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me May 17,- 1921,

13 in the usual way. Ay bed or foundation 14 ot concrete, ora coping, preferably unfderlies certain. ties 13 nearest the scale, -or

assists in supporting Vthe ends of the` trackA rails 12 in any suitable manner. A spring plate 15 has one end portion mounted on and lixed to a cross tie 13 spaced from the'end of the track rail 12, preferably thc second tie from the end of said rail, being fixed tosaidf' tie by spikes 16, and may alsobe supported by a lianged chair plate 17 extendingbeneatll said rail. parallel with and adjacent -to the rail 12 and acrossthe joint between said rail'and ythe scale rail 11, overlapping upen the platform 10 of the scale but not being iixed thereto, said spring plate being mounted along sideV the inner faces ot said rails, and on or in connection with bothv rails forming the track. A chair plate 1-8 is provided and` is mounted on the scale platform 10 anda sim* ilar chair plate 1S) is mounted on the cross tie 13 nearest thereto, adjacent the joint between the rails 11, 12 beneath said rails and conjunctively secured therewith to the platform and tie', respectively, and the freer end The spring plate 15 extends portion ot the spring plate 15 extends loosely across said chair plates. An approach or bridge member 20 overlies and is secured by bolts 21 or the llike to the -tree end portion of the spring plate 15 and lies in a (position immediately above'the chair plates '18, 19 and extending across yand adjacentthejoint between the rails 11, 12. 18, 19 arel formed on theirinner longitudinal margins with vertical flanges 18', 19" respectively, parallel withv and close vto that margin of the spring plate 15 farthest-from the track rails 11, 12, and said flanges over# lap upon the base portion 'of the bridge or approach member 20 and serve to prevent movement ot said member laterallyaway from the rails. The bridge or approach member 2O is formed with a portion which extends loosely bet ween'the base and rhead of the rails 11 and 12, and thus said member is confined andblimited as to movement, vbeing permittedV a limited verticalirmovement with the free end of the Vspring plate 15 but no lateral or longitudinal movement, because of its attachment to the spring plate and its juxtaposition to the rail and to the flanges 18', 19. Thebridge or approach member 20 is formed with an inner lip 22- or ridge,

which vis 'substantially f parallel with and spaced from the rails.l Between the lip or The -chair plates V ted lines in Figure 2. rlhe groove or flangeway 23 extends from end ,to ond of the me ber and is adapted to receive the flange of a. railway car wheel passing alongthe rails End portions of the groove or flangewa-y 23 are sufficient-ly low that a. car

Y wheel is carried by the rails 11 or 12 in the Cil usual manner, the face of the wheel resting on the ball of the rail; but the curvature and rise of such iiangeway is such thatin its central portion the flange of the car wheel contacts the approach or bridge member and the wheel is lifted from the rail. This transfer of the weight of the car wheel is effected before it reaches the joint between the rails,

Vso that the weight of the load is transferred from the track rail tothe approach member and from it to the scaleV rail. As the car wheel moves along the approach or bridge member the spring plate 15 yields and presses downwardly upon the'scale platform and gradually lowers such platform, within its-range of movement, so that by. the time the flange of the wheel has passed to the downwardly inclined port-ion of the flangeway and the wheel comes into contact- 'with the scale rail, said platform, and the weighing devices then having been depressed into weighing position relative to the load thereon. This transfer of the weight prevents sudden shocks and ars to the weighing apparatus, injury to the knife edges and springs and also crawling of the scale rails which often results from sudden impact of a load upon the scale.y The bridge or approach device holds the scale platform firmly until the car trucks are o n the scale and then it releases the scale so that it is free for the weighing operation, the resilience of the spring plate 15 permitting a downward movement below its normal horizontal plane, at its free end which overhangs the scale platform.

At times it maybe desirable to employ the bridge or approach member without the spring plate, mounting it so that it is free to'move vertically tov a limited extent, or to tilt or oscillate slightly on a transverse axis as the weight r'is transferred. When so used the chair plates may be employed to limit vertical movement of the bridge or approach member and to prevent lateral movement, but additional means must be employed to e prevent longitudinal movement, since its connection to the spring plate is done away with. In Figures tand 5 l have shown two modifications for so using the device. In Figure 4 the bridge or approach member 20zt is formed in its central portion with a downwardly projecting lug or stop 211 engaging rather loosely between the spaced chair plates 18, 19, thus permitting some rocking movement of said member as a car wheel passes over it, but preventing any material longitudinal movement; lateral movement thereof being prevented, as before, by flanges of the chairplates. In Figure 5 a similar arrangement is provided except that the approach or bridge member 2()b does not have any projections, and it is conlined against longitudinal movement by end flanges 18, 19 on the outer ends of the respective chair plates'18L and 19t.

In Figure 6 l haveshown an adaptation of my invention to use in Yconnection with a member which is not only capable of a slight vertical movement, as is a track scale, but also adapted for lateral or rotary motion; in .other words a railway turntable. For such use it is necessary to provide means for withdrawing the bridge or approach members from their normal position across the rail joints, at such times as it is desired to rotate the turntable. ln this view, the turntable proper is indicated hy the numeral which carries rails 26, 26 extending substantially diametrically thereof and adapted to cooperate in alinement or abutting relation with track rails 27, 27, a plurality of which are usually arranged at a given location in positions radially of the axis of the turntable. A pair of bridge or approach members 20 are provided to bridge the `joints between the rails 26 and 27, said members preferably being slidably .mounted in and relative to chair plates 18, 19 similar to those shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, provided at their inner margins with longitudinal anges 18', 19 designed to guide said members in their sliding movement and to prevent lateral movement thereof. These chaiiI plates are mounted respectively on the turntable 25 and on the ties such as 13 rigidly located adjacent Vthereto and supporting the track rails 27, and are arranged beneath the rails 26 and 27 and conjunctively secured therewith to the respective supports. Any desired means may be employed for sliding the bridge or approach members 20 in their seats and withdrawing them from their position extending across the rail joints. ln this instance l have shown a rock shaft-28 journaled inbearings 29 carried by the turntable 25, said shaft being provided with a lever 30 adapted for its manual operation, and at its ends formed with cranks 31, 32 pivotally connected by links 33, 34; with the respective bridge or approach members 20. The lever 30 and cranks 31, 32 are adapted for movement through arcs of about one hundred eighty degrees, from a horizontal position on oneside of the rock shaft tohorizontal position on the opposite side, which movement results in the desired shifting of the members 20 to or from their normal positions bridgingV the -joints between the abutting track rails. As the mem-V bers 2O and their operating devices are located on the turntable, they may be caused to cooperate with any set of track Vrails such as 27 with which the turntable rails 26 are caused to aline, and they serve a similar function to that previously described in transferring the weight of rolling stock, and more particularly locomotives, to and from the turntable without undue shocks and jars to the mechanism. Any other suitable means may be employed for shifting the members 20, or for rocking the shaftf 28 in case it is employed.

l claim as my inventionl. A bridge for abutting rigid and movable track rails, comprising- ,chair plates mounted beneath said rails adjacent the joint therebetween, and a bridge member mounted on said chair plates parallel with said rails and extending across the joint, said bridge member being formed with a grooved fiangeway .parallel with the rails adapted to receive flanges of car wheels, said eliairplates being formed with stops to limit lateral movement of. the bridge member away from the rails.

2. A bridge for the joint between a movable and a rigid tra'ck rail, comprising chair plates mounted beneath said rails adjacent said joint, a spring plate anchored adjacent said rigid rail and extending loosely alongside the movable rail, and a bridge member mounted on said spring plate and extending across said jo-int, said bridge member being formed with a grooved flangeway parallel with the rails adapted to receive flanges of car wheels, said chair plates being formed wit-h flanges parallel with said rails to pre- `vent lateral movement ofthe bridge member.

3. A bridge for the joint between a movable and a rigidtrack rail, comprising chair plates mounted beneath said rails adjacent said joint, and a bridge member mounted on said chair plates and extending across said joint, said bridge member being formed with a grooved flangeway parallel with the rails adapted to receive flanges of car wheels, said chair plates beingl formed with flanges parallel with and spaced from the rails to prevent lateral movement of the bridge member, together with means to prevent longitudinal movement of the bridge member.

ll. A bridge for the-joint between a rigid and a movable track rail, comprising a chair plate mounted beneath the end portion of yeach rail adjacent the Vjoint, each chair plate being formed with amarginal flange parallel with and spaced from the rail, and a bridge member mounted on said chair plates and held by. said flanges against lateral movement 'away from said rails,said bridge s member being formed with a grooved iangeway parallel with the rails and crossing the joint, said bridge member being free to move to a limited extent with said movable rail. j l

v 5. A bridge for the joint between a rigid and Va movable track rail, comprising a chair platerrmounted beneath the end portion of each rail adjacent the joint, each chair plate being formed with a marginal flange spaced from the rail, a bridge member mounted onk said chair plates and adapted to extend across said joint,'and means for sliding said bridge member longitudinallv to withdraw it from the location of said joint.

6. A bridge for the joint between a rigid and a movable track rail, comprising a chair plate mounted beneath the end portion of each rail adjacent the joint,each chair plate being formed with a marginal flange spaced from the rail, a bridge member mounted on (l0 `when said rock 

